Conventional household toasters and toaster ovens are common in the kitchen appliance art for toasting a foodstuff such as a slice of bread or a bagel and/or baking or heating a foodstuff such as a personal pizza or baked potato. The toaster and toaster oven are typically two separate units that each take up counter space in a kitchen. A combination toaster oven and toaster appliance has been developed which combines the toaster oven with the toaster in a single appliance. The combination toaster oven and toaster includes the pivotable front door of a conventional toaster oven and the toasting carriage and slot of a conventional toaster.
A prior art combination toaster oven and toaster appliance included a toaster slot at its top that was constantly open such that heat was able to flow out of the open, exposed toaster slot, severely compromising the efficiency of the toaster oven. In addition, any object that was dropped onto the top of the combination toaster oven and toaster appliance or into the slot during use of the toaster oven may be exposed to the high temperatures of the toaster oven and could potentially catch fire. If an item were to catch on fire in the prior art combination toaster oven and toaster appliance or the foodstuff being toasted in the toaster oven were to catch fire, the flames were able to leap out of the toaster slot and cause a burning hazard to a user or a general fire hazard to anything in close proximity to the exposed slot. Further, the user could set the toaster oven for baking at a predetermined baking temperature for an indeterminate or infinite amount of time and leave the combination toaster oven and toaster appliance unsupervised during the cooking cycle. Accordingly, the indefinitely timed or infinite cooking cycle was able to proceed at a high temperature without user supervision. This is undesirable in that a user may forget that the appliance is operating and electricity may be wasted or a fire may commence. Specifically, the prior art combination toaster oven and toaster appliance is typically a counter top appliance that may be positioned under kitchen cabinets during use, causing a fire hazard if flames extend out of an open toaster slot.
It would be advantageous to develop an appliance with the advantages of the prior art combination toaster oven and toaster appliance that prevented use of the toaster oven with an exposed slot. In addition, it would be desirable to design a combination toaster oven and toaster appliance that prevented an indefinite cooking cycle unless the toast slot was covered. In addition, it would be desirable for this appliance to include a toasting slot such that the appliance may be used as a toaster oven and a toaster such that kitchen countertop space is preserved.